Dell Deal All But Dead

With a special committee of the Dell board rejecting a voting rule change proposed by Michael Dell, odds of a buyout have sharply fallen.

The Dell buyout is near death after a special committee of the Dell board Wednesday morning rejected a voting rule change proposed by Michael Dell that probably was his only hope of salvaging the deal.

The special committee did offer to set a new record date for the vote if Michael Dell is willing to proceed with his revised offer of $13.75 a share. That $13.75 offer from Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners unveiled earlier this month had been contingent on the voting rule change, which would eliminate nonvoting shares...